In the blinding rush for news, our belief was that our readers would primarily look upon the print edition of their trusted magazine to reflect and understand the big issues of the day

We’ve just turned two. This edition, specially crafted for you, dear readers, is our way of saying thank you. When we started on this journey in May ’09, our mission was to create a reading experience that puts back the magic into magazine journalism. Our second anniversary is an occasion, as good as any, to revisit how we’ve fared on that front.

As the 24x7 news cycle gathered steam in India, most magazines’ titles responded to the increased competition by attempting to run faster and faster. On the other hand, we’ve consciously followed a contrarian editorial strategy: We’ve actually slowed things down for the reader. In the blinding rush for news, our belief was that our readers would primarily look upon the print edition of their trusted magazine to reflect and understand the big issues of the day.

This special edition — The Big Debates of Our Times — that you hold in your hands is based on that same premise. It aims to bring clarity to some of the biggest questions of our lives. My colleague and our Project Editor Dinesh Narayanan, who led this special project for the past two months, first prepared a shortlist of the big themes — such as growth versus sustainability, war for peace, values versus valuations, Jugaad versus chalta-hai, paywalls versus free media, urbanization and livelihoods, global finance versus local risks — and then proceeded to invite some of India’s most influential individuals across diverse backgrounds to write a defining essay on the theme. I have no doubt that you’ll see this collection of provocative and insightful essays as a collectors’ item.

To add his special touch, Dinesh Krishnan, our Director-Photography, has curated a special catalogue of images that capture this edition’s larger theme. It captures a nation at the cross-roads of change. We’ve also added a familiar feature: A report card of our most impactful stories and our best covers over the last one year.

So sit back, relax and enjoy this edition! And do remember to tell us what you think of it.

(This story appears in the 03 June, 2011 issue of Forbes India. You can buy our tablet version from Magzter.com. To visit our Archives, click here.)